Tennessee Summer Camp Wedding

Intimate and down to earth, this Tennessee summer camp wedding photographed by Ariel Renae Photography suits the beautiful bride and groom perfectly. The sun may not have been present for their special day, but love certainly was… even in the pouring rain.

From the photographer, Ariel Renae Photography: A sweet spring wedding located at a summer camp, just south of Nashville, Tennessee. This day was truly laid back, intimate and completely true to who this couple is. It was loaded with southern, beautiful and personal details. The bride wore a cuff custom made out of pieces of her great grandmother’s wedding (the pink, raggedy dress, hanging in the window in a few photos!) They used quilts made from their grandmother’s, throughout the reception area, as decor! The wedding programs were brown paper bags, filled with popcorn so that their guests could snack while waiting on the wedding to start. Jon and Liz walked down the aisle hand-in-hand, and although the rain held off until the ceremony was almost over, it started to pour down rain for most of our portrait time. We ran with it and had an amazing few minutes shooting in the rain. It was a beautiful wedding day.

From the groom, Jon: We fell in love with the rustic, woodsy vibe of Camp Marymount, especially the outdoor chapel nestled deep in the forest. So we used that as our canvas for the wedding. A very natural, woodsy, summer-camp feel. Maybe with a bit of “Moonrise Kingdom” influence thrown in there for good measure.

Misty, folky, indie, woodsy, endearing, homemade, charming, creative, rustic, Southern, cozy, vintage. We didn’t really have a color scheme, just natural wood and white. Aside from catering and lighting, everything was DIY. For example, I did all the graphic design for the invitations (camp brochures), and designed the cookbooks that we gave to all our guests as favors. Liz printed out all the programs on brown paper lunch bags that we stuffed with kettle corn. The cuff that Liz wore was made from her great grandmother Adelle’s wedding dress from 1914.

Liz planned the whole vision of the wedding, and we carefully hunted down all of the decorations, tablecloths, mix-match flatware, plates, etc. The day before the wedding, our family and friends came to help us decorate the whole campground. It was amazing seeing all of our visions come to life, and we couldn’t have done it without their help.

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Also – it’s worth noting that we’re both professional musicians, and it’s probably safe to say that almost everyone at the wedding was a musician. Not only was it easy to put together amazing music for the ceremony and reception, but there was even a bluegrass jam on the porch at the end of the night.

Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? Do whatever it takes to get a great photographer.

Location: Fairview, Tennessee / Photographer: Ariel Renae Photography / Venue: Camp Marymount / Bride’s Dress: Sarah Seven / Cuff: Made by Pattie Talbot at Seam / Groom’s Suit: Hugo Boss / Tie: J Crew / Shoes: Johnson & Murphy / Catering: Bacon and Caviar / Lighting: Nashville Event Lighting / Flowers: Import Flowers / Wedding Music: Bethany Olds (fiddle), Jennifer Niceley (singer/songwriter) / Cocktail Hour Music: Steve Pardo (sax), Jonathan Wires (upright bass) / DJ: Brian Hickman